Lobster: The big bug that lives under the sea.

I love seafood. There is a corny old joke about dieting. “I’m on a seafood diet, I seafood and I eat it”. I guess that would apply to me. Only in that when I see seafood, I eat it. I’ve written about this topic before. I will Probably will have numerous columns in the future dedicated to it as well. So far, I’ve expounded on shrimp, crabs and oysters. I’ve elaborated on the raw stuff too, Sushi. But tonight we dined on lobster.

Lobster is essentially a giant bug that lives at the bottom of the Ocean. Now granted that’s a pretty freaky concept to wrap your head around. On land, the version of this creature crawls around foraging on the underbelly and living in the dark moist places like under a decaying log or rock. That’s normally something I’d freak out over and want to step on. Sure, I’m gonna eat this? Absolutely! It’s a delicacy and simply good eats. In North America, the American or Maine lobster did not achieve popularity until the mid-19th century, when New Yorker’s and Bostonians developed a taste for the crustacean. Prior to this time, lobster was considered a mark of poverty or as food for indentured servants or lower members of society in Maine, Massachusetts and the Canadian Atlantic coast. Into the 1950s, people in these regions buried their lobster shells to escape the negative stigma. Today these bugs fetch a high price and a lobster dinner out can run $30 or more for a 1 pounder.

But Tonight was my fiance’s birthday. Being the noble romantic I am, I told her I would take her to wherever she wanted to go for dinner. I was fully prepared for a steak dinner being that she fancies the filet mignon. We both seemed to agree however that Oysters on the half shell would be a great appetizer. And as our list of options emerged and her palate evolved with the day, so did her taste buds for seafood. She suggested Bob Chinns. A quick search on the internet informed us of the November Lobster Mania they were having. Great deals on Lobster dinners. We began to get ready to dine.

Bob Chinns is a marina of fresh seafood. It’s like stepping into a harbor town along the coast of the Atlantic. Fresh seafood flown in daily with a menu so vast and diverse that one could eat here every night for months before duplicating a meal. It’s probably a good thing it’s a 45 minute drive from us or we’d certainly become regulars. First we dove into the raw oysters. 1 dozen to be exact. I couldn’t slurp them down quick enough. Blue Points I believe were the variety. Blue points have a nice balance of sweet and salty ocean flavor and are a pretty decent sized mollusc.

We each had a cup of soup. She had the New England style clam chowder and I opted for the seafood gumbo. Then came the madness. 2 huge lobsters arrived. Her steamed 1 pounder with strip steak and my broiled 2 pounder. When it comes to surf & turf, I’ll take more of the surf any day. The broiled version is first steamed then finished in the broiler. The broiling dries out the meat slightly after the initial boil or steam and allows for some mild browning. Any way you cook them though, they ‘re gonna taste great. Serve with plenty of lemon wedges and drawn butter. Put on your bib and go to town.

It’s OK to feel like a slob when eating these things. They’re quite messy and trying to be neat and polite will only frustrate you. So not only is a bib acceptable, it’s just smart sense. Start cracking and don’t be timid. Remember, they’re just big bugs anyway.